The dreaded FIRST BUS!

[Crazy Jane]

What was the Centrebus thing i got on yesterday on the 757 route? Is that one of the ex-London busses?The front half is all luggage space and the seats are so close together i couldn't even sit comfortable (or safely i dare say) at a diagonal across two, and there were seat belts.I might just avoid that service for now if i don;t need to be anywhere in a hurry. I know Worst are pricey but at least the busses seem clean and reasonably well maintained, this was just as pricey and horrid.

[raveydavey]

Crazy Jane wrote: What was the Centrebus thing i got on yesterday on the 757 route? Is that one of the ex-London busses?The front half is all luggage space and the seats are so close together i couldn't even sit comfortable (or safely i dare say) at a diagonal across two, and there were seat belts.I might just avoid that service for now if i don;t need to be anywhere in a hurry. I know Worst are pricey but at least the busses seem clean and reasonably well maintained, this was just as pricey and horrid. Funnily enough, the inlaws regularly use the 757 service (well, a couple of times a month) and the reckon it's much improved since Centrebus took over. Horses for courses, I guess.

[raveydavey]

LS1 wrote: What are those new beige buses I have seen operating lateley? Saw a few the other wekk then not seen any for a while. They have '10 number plates on them so can only assume that they are brand spanking new. I've not seen them. It wasn't at Crossgates was it? Optare have been doing loads of testing lately with buses in all sorts of usually unseen around Leeds liveries.

[Barwicker]

I have seen one beige and green double decker operating on the guided routes to Alwoodley Shadwell etc.According to a Bus Magazine I read in the library (W H Smith) it is a hybrid vehicle on loan for evaluation and another six will follow soon. They possibly already have.

[BLAKEY]

Crazy Jane wrote: What was the Centrebus thing i got on yesterday on the 757 route? Is that one of the ex-London busses?The front half is all luggage space and the seats are so close together i couldn't even sit comfortable (or safely i dare say) at a diagonal across two, and there were seat belts.I might just avoid that service for now if i don;t need to be anywhere in a hurry. I know Worst are pricey but at least the busses seem clean and reasonably well maintained, this was just as pricey and horrid. I believe that the silver buses presently operating the Airport services were former "airside" vehicles for coveying passengers and luggage within larg airports - some connection with John Menzies, the wholesale news giant. Most of them are "03" registered and therefore seven years old already.

[Crazy Jane]

Ah ok. I'm just surprised that i use the Kirkstall Road busses most days and have never seen one like this before.I'd have pegged it as >7 years old but you're probably right (and most vehicles are a metal box with a wheel on each corner to me), probably they've just seen a lot of action.

[BLAKEY]

Barwicker wrote: I have seen one beige and green double decker operating on the guided routes to Alwoodley Shadwell etc.According to a Bus Magazine I read in the library (W H Smith) it is a hybrid vehicle on loan for evaluation and another six will follow soon. They possibly already have. The other six are on order but are not here yet, and I believe they are to be purchased by "First" rather than on loan. There have been various such transmission schemes tried, but this one seems to be very promising indeed. Just briefly, pulling away from stops is the work of the electric motor while normal power once moving over a certain speed is provided by a very small 5 litre diesel engine. I must try to have a ride on it while it is here - another three weeks I understand and it is on the same rota every day except Sunday when it "stays in" at Bramley.

[raveydavey]

Lots more services are set to be either axed or scaled back from the Bank Holiday weekend:Monday to Friday, the frequent service on Overground routes 1 and 4 will start later in the morning. Service 1 will also no longer run to Cottingley, evenings and Sundays. Service 55 will instead run to Cottingley, hourly, on the same route as the daytime service. Wesley Street will no longer be served. Early morning, late evening and Sunday journeys on service 51 will now all run via the M621.Service 90, between Leeds and Seacroft, will be renumbered as service 11. The section of route between Leeds and Greengates will be run by Centrebus during the day and by First evenings and Sundays.Centrebus will also take over service 92 from Monday 20 September, but there will be no service between Monday 30 August and then.Services 18 and 18A will run hourly after 8pm, as service 18A; there will be no service via Silk Mill Way. The Sunday service will start at 0930 rather than 0730, and some other early morning journeys are withdrawn. The late-night Thursday to Saturday journeys on service 56 are withdrawn. Evenings and Sundays, service 28 is reduced to hourly; there will be no service to Clarence Dock after 1930.Services 85 and 87 will now only run to Thorpe, East Ardsley, White Rose Centre and Morley at off-peak times.Services 98, 99 and X98 have a revised route in Wetherby, omitting Forth Avenue, Hallfield Lane and Sandbeck Way. Some peak journeys will be withdrawn.Services 965 and 968 are reduced from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes, as service 965. The Monday to Saturday daytime frequency on service X84 is reduced from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes.Service 96 is renumbered 6, and there are timetable changes to services 16, 16A, 74, 74A and 95.Service X64 between Leeds and York is withdrawn.

[dervish99]

Leodian wrote: tyke bhoy wrote: saw a 51 reg tonight and an 01 one in the orange livery one all white.I wonder how many of these buses meet the disabled access regs that are imminent and whether they are excluded due to size of operation. If it is size of operation presumably Arriva and First wouldn't be excluded but Geldards would. Geldards would need this to be the case because I don't think they have a bus in the fleet without a large entry step after stepping on. Not directly relevant to the thread but I've often wondered if the name Geldards was used because it is an anagram of Ledgards (of Samuel Ledgards buses fame). Geldards is simply named after the guy who owns the company Mr Geldard.

[Riponian]

"Services 98, 99 and X98 have a revised route in Wetherby, omitting Forth Avenue, Hallfield Lane and Sandbeck Way. Some peak journeys will be withdrawn."The run round Wetherby was never well patronised anyway, and rather a long way round. The huddling masses of Hallfield will have to walk!I am rather surprised that First still run to Wetherby, I would have thought that they would have either decided to go down the "high quality" path as per the "36" or just knobbled the service down a minimum and looked for a Metro handout. I know it's traditionally West Yorkshire territory and there may be an agreement stopping H&D encroaching. In my opinion would be a good thing, as First are not good at being a "rural" operator.